2. I add cucumbers (previously rubbed with salt) when they can be available cheap or free. Otherwise, I replace them with cabbage.

3. I add a relatively small amount of mayonnaise. (I used to add twice as much.) I can add more vinegar and salt and leave out mayo altogether.

4. You must add mayonnaise after all other ingredients have cooled down. Otherwise, you may cause the mayo to be separated.

5. I personally like Kewpie Mayonnaise because it's an egg yolk only type. Ajinomoto's mayonnaise is a whole-egg type. I'm not implying that the former is superior to the latter. There are Japanese who prefer the latter type.

My mom made a Chinese style potato salad with barely any mayonnaise in it (well, maybe it's just her own style) She's a very health conscious former nurse, so she doesn't like using a lot of fats and oils in her cooking. I was expecting the potato salad to taste bland, but it was surprisingly good. I actually like her style now.

Thank you for this post! Very interesting, your salads... I also add some rice vinegar, but never sugar. I must try it. I have never tested cabbage either. I always have cucumber in the fridge (it's practically zero calories and I like it a lot, so it's 365 days a year in my fridge), so I never had to replace it, but I'll try cabbage out of curiosity.I know you don't like light mayonnaise, but I find Japanese "hafu" Kewpie better than any standard European mayonnaise, so I use it instead. Luckily I've recently discovered an internet shop which sells it! (I used to bring the light Kewpie from Japan.... eight bottles in my luggage). I always add eggs to my potato salad (I'm crazy for eggs). And always lots of black ground pepper. And red onion too.

I've forgotten to say I find it very interesting that in Japan many people cook in the microwave. I've also seen it often on ３分クッキング. I always use my microwave to reheat or sometimes defrost.... I must use it more often to cook quicker too!

Sissi: I learned adding vinegar and sugar as "kakushi aji" (hidden flavors) from my wife long time ago. As for cabbage, I first thought of using it when I found that I had no cucumbers in the fridge just when I wanted to make potato salad. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say!Besides, cucumbers can hit 50 yen each here in Japan! (Can you believe it?)

In my eGullet years, I learned from other members that adding canned corn to salad was not "American", but I always temped to add canned corn for its color. Well, I know boiled eggs are also a good option, but I'd hate the additional work...

I like cooking with a microwave! As I mentioned in the post, I have two microwaves in the kithen. I don't feel the necessity for a big oven but I definitely need a microwave (and a tiny toaster oven) in the kitchen. I think that most Japanese feel the same way.